The LA Clippers were bested in the Western Conference Finals by the Phoenix Suns during last postseason. Despite missing their best player, Kawhi Leonard, for the entire series after he suffered a partially torn ACL against the Utah Jazz one series prior, the Clippers acquitted themselves well in the postseason as a unit.

For guard Reggie Jackson, having a fan base on his side fully, was a refreshing experience for him, as he revealed during the Clippers’ media day. Via Reddit:

Reggie Jackson on Clipper Fans “I remember walking off the court looking at my brother after game 6 vs Phoenix, and he told me to listen. And I was like, ‘Oh, they’re chanting my name. I’m so thankful.’ I was just appreciative… I was very appreciative that people realized I gave my all.” from nba

Jackson shouldered a heavy load in the WCF after Leonard’s injury, averaging 37.7 minutes against the Suns in a tightly contested six-game series, so it's no wonder than long-suffering Clippers fans, who had never seen their team make the Conference Finals before last season, embraced an underdog like Jackson.

Known mostly as a high-volume scorer with the Detroit Pistons and even derogatorily deemed a “chucker” in his early career with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Jackson found a home with the Clippers after being waived by Detroit in February of 2020.

Where the 31-year-old has seen his most impressive improvement is on the defensive end, where he performed admirably for the Clippers against the bevy of talented guards that the Phoenix Suns (Chris Paul, Devin Booker, Cam Payne) and Utah Jazz (Donovan Mitchell, Jordan Clarkson) threw their way in the Western Conference playoffs.

Beyond that, Jackson produced the best three-point shooting season of his career in 2020-21 with a 43.3 percent shooting clip from downtown with another career-high in three-point attempt rate: 48.2 percent.

Those numbers continued into the playoffs as well, as the Clippers guard finished only two behind Khris Middleton in total triples canned in the playoffs. Considering that Middleton played one more series than Jackson, that number is even more impressive.